Hedge funds have been increasing their wagers that the price of gold will rise going forward, and those who purchase precious metals might benefit from having this information on what sophisticated investors are doing.

As of July 23, the net length position of these funds rose to 70,067 futures and options, according to data provided by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission and reported by Bloomberg. This period was the fourth one in a row where this long exposure rose, and the aforementioned figure represents a 26 percent increase.

These bullish wagers have been made after the metal has registered sharp gains, as gold was recently trading 32 percent below the all-time high it reached in September 2011, according to InvestmentWeek. In addition, the metal has plunged 20 percent so far in 2013.

The metal managed to fall into a bear market in April, after losing 20 percent compared to the all-time high it reached late in 2011.

"Buyers are expecting that the tapering program that's been much ballyhooed won't begin quite as soon as a lot of people anticipated," Mark Luschini, the chief investment strategist of Janney Montgomery Scott, told Bloomberg.

In the event that he is right, and the program is extended, it could serve as a boon to those who purchase precious metals.